Hoping in God

THIS WEEK I have been going to Southpoint Community Church for one year! I can tell because last year I first came the week when Youth Quake Live was held at Southpoint, and this week it was held there again. I had a wonderful time at Youth Quake with Rina, Kenny, Margaret, Joey, Izzy, and Billy. The theme involved international missions and the struggles that Christians face in other countries. I have decided to pray for Christians who are suffering more than I am, and about whether I belong in a mission trip of any kind.

This week has been really unusual and exciting because something has changed in my heart. On Monday I began to pray really hard that I would see someone saved this week. I prayed every day with seriousness and hope. This is because there is a new, big desire in my heart to start seeing people saved and show this life-changing love to other people. I'm praying this desire only increases. I haven't done much witnessing at all (whether or not this blog counts, I don't know) but this week more than ever I just want to do what Jesus said to do right before He went up into heaven(Matthew 28:19-20): "[19] 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen."
Christianity is by nature evangelical, because Jesus Christ is evangelical.

As it turns out, despite my hard prayer and determination, I did not see anyone saved this week. But God did show me that He heard my prayer. I can tell because some strange and beautiful things started happening, and working. Although I didn't see anyone saved this week, I will continue to pray that I will. And even though it hasn't happened yet, who knows, the things that happened this week might lead to it happening in a little while. That would be awesome. I have faith that God does answer prayer, and He also has a plan that's way above our heads. That's enough for me.

A few different really cool things happened this week. First, someone I've been praying for left a message on my phone asking out of curiosity about a Biblical allusion she had read. She had decided to ask me to see if I knew anything about a man who had sat in chains cutting himself with stones, and when I talked to her I was able to tell her about the man whose many demons Jesus cast into a herd of swine, which immediately ran off the edge of a cliff. What I loved was that she used the word "curious" when she explained why she wanted to know. I had been praying for exactly that, that she would be curious about Jesus, and I continue to pray it. That was amazing. I'm still happy whenever I think about it.

That same day I felt a pull to call another friend of mine to ask if she would like to come to my Youth Group with me. I am not accustomed to calling people very often, especially if they are not expecting it. When I called it turned out she couldn't go, but she said she would like to come with me Sunday! I was astounded. So she went with me today, and we had fun. I love the things God does. I just want to be part of what He is doing.

The Bible encourages me to keep hoping in God, even though I didn't get to see anybody saved this week. At Bible study one morning this week, my friend Arun (ah-ROON) arrived wanting to share Romans 5:5. "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

I got so excited when I read this because it was exactly what I needed to hear. It tells me that because the Holy Spirit has poured the love of God, which never fails, into my heart, I can be sure that if I hope in Him I will not be disappointed. I find that He is the only thing we can ever be totally sure of. Anything else could fail, or disappear, or fall out from under us. But He stands strong forever, more constant than gravity and more powerful than all the suns in the universe He created.

I saw another wonderful thing while I was just flipping through the pages of my Bible to somewhere else, and it stayed with me so well that I went back on another day to look at the whole chapter. Acts 8:26-40 tells the story of an evangelist named Philip who heard the Holy Spirit tell him to stop a certain chariot. So he did, and he found the man inside reading a passage from Isaiah, a prophesy about Jesus. He was having trouble understanding it, so Philip explained it and preached the gospel to him, and the man was saved. He was baptized in water right then and there.

What struck me was that the Holy Spirit gave Philip those clear instructions: (v.29) "Then the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go near and overtake this chariot.'" Philip was an evangelist, so undoubtedly he was living in a state of readiness to share the gospel, having a good understanding of the necessity and urgency of the task. So when the Spirit gave this command he did not waste any time. Philip must have been really amazed at God when he saw the result of his obedience to God's command: here was this man in the perfect position to hear the gospel! God made it come together so beautifully - Philip and the chariot were at the same place at the same time, and that fellow earnestly wanted to understand what he was reading.

What this story told me was that God already knows when and where the chance will come for me to share the gospel, and when that time comes His Spirit will command me what to do. I say this for all of us. If we continue to hope in Him and strive to obey His will, of course He will show us what to do and when. So I'm going to keep praying for the chance to see people saved, having hope in God that I won't be disappointed, and trusting that He has a plan for what He's going to do with me, as He has for you and for each one of us. I'm also going to keep praying that my desire to see others saved increases. Nobody is going to stop Him from doing exactly as He has determined to do, just as nobody can stop the ocean behind a dam or pin the sky down to the earth. What's required of you and me is faith, and a willingness to trust and obey God regardless of the circumstances. He loves us unconditionally, and we should serve Him unconditionally in return.